Golshifteh Farahani’s When She Hears the Bells Secures French Distributor
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, When She Hears the Bells (Les Clochettes de Kaboul), directed by Shabnam Zariab and starring Golshifteh Farahani, is being shopped at the European Film Market.
Currently in post-production, the film follows a widow in Kabul who discovers that the kitchen where she works serves as a front for the sexual exploitation of children. As the Taliban return to power, she decides to help the young boys.
When She Hears the Bells is a co-production between France, Germany, and Belgium. Le Pacte will distribute the film in France, Grandfilm in Germany, and O’Brother Distribution in Belgium.
Zariab, an Afghan writer-director now based in Paris, co-wrote the screenplay with her sister Parande Zariab. She says the film aims to address the issue of bacha bazi: “It is a symbolic reflection of the state of this society. When the law separates women and men and leaves space for certain forms of abuse, child abuse becomes one of its most horrific consequences.”
Farahani, 42, recently collaborated with Julia Ducournau on Alpha and will reunite with Sam Hargrave on Matchbox: The Movie following Extraction.
